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US Warship Arrives in Crete as Greece-Turkey Standoff Escalates

Anthee Carassava

   ATHENS, GREECE - The massive American warship, the USS Hershel Woody
   Williams, has arrived in the Greek island of Crete, on a mission to
   keep an eye on escalating tensions between NATO allies Greece and
   Turkey over energy rights in the eastern Mediterranean. The US vessel
   joins others from the European Union and Russia, raising concerns among
   some in Greece about what a military buildup could mean.

   Military experts describe the USS Hershel Woody Williams as a floating
   base, the second of a new class of massive ships the US Navy is now
   using as fast transport and support centers for military operations.

   The 230-meter-long ship, about the size of some skyscrapers, was
   earlier in Naples, Italy, for a routine logistics stop before it was
   sent to Crete where it is on standby as Greece and Turkey remain locked
   in a standoff.

   Greek and Turkish battleships have been gathering in the region since
   President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered a research vessel to the eastern
   Mediterranean to survey for gas and oil.

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